Francis Cabrel is in top form for this 1994 release. While the style of the music stays in the acoustic rock category, each song is carefully crafted and infused with a variety of sounds and influences, ranging from contemporary folk (“Tot ou tard s’en aller”) to cool jazz (“Le noceur”) to blues-rock (“Assis sur le rebord du monde”). Cabrel uses his voice like an instrument, varying the tone and texture for effect. His renowned lyrics are sharp as well, from the Dylanesque “La corrida” to the poetic “Je t’aimais, je t’aime, je t’aimerai.” The album flows along smoothly at a leisurely pace, but never loses interest, thanks to the changing instrumentation, judicious use of guest artists (such as Nicolas Reyes of the Gipsy Kings) and the musical direction of Gèrard Bikialo. The album also stays focused on the songs, prominently featuring Cabrel’s voice and guitar. The music on Samedi soir sur la terre represents a master of the trade in action. ~ Samuel Johnson

Cabrel generally sticks to typical sounds, styles, and approaches with Quelqu’un de l’interieure. In fact, much of this 1983 release sounds like it belongs in the ’70s. Most of the songs are a little uneven and perhaps less inspired than usual. However, the album is a pleasant listen, and the production is solid. More importantly, Quelqu’un contains a couple of truly outstanding songs. “L’enfant Qui Dort” is nothing short of exquisite — a perfect ballad. Cabrel employs his sharpest lyric writing on the blisteringly paced “Edition Speciale.” The message song “Said et Mohamed” was one of Cabrel’s most successful songs of his ’80s output. The rest of the album never quite fulfills the promise of these tracks. ~~AllMusic Review by Samuel Johnson

By the release of this album, Francis Cabrel had assembled quite a formidable team of instrumentalists, arrangers, and producers, and this album reflects their confidence and ability. More varied than any of Cabrel’s earlier releases, Photos de Voyages maintains a high level of excellence musically. The arrangements are compelling and the instrumental performances are strong and tasteful. However, the disc is missing the knockout songs of Quelqu’un de l’interieure, not to mention the intensity and insightful social observations of his earlier work. The album is a transitional work: Cabrel moving from savant singer-songwriter to relaxed, reminiscent musical shape-shifter, an approach which he is to master on later releases. Overall, this is a better forum for Gerard Bikialo (producer) than Cabrel, but a nice indicator of what is to come. ~~ AllMusic Review by Samuel Johnson

Francis Cabrel’s second release is chock-full of well-written songs. The album flows well, is a pleasant listen, and features an impressive variety of styles from ’70s pop (“Souviens-toi de nous”) to the mandatory blues number (Monnaie blues-in the vein of Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues”). It was the acoustic ballads, however, that were most successful artistically and commercially. The gentle “Je l’aime à mourir,” with its poetic lyric, was a big hit in France. The song’s influence on artists such as French-Canadian singer Roch Voisine, considering he recorded a version of it on his album Double (warning: the adaptation of the lyrics into English is rather poorly done, and doesn’t resemble a translation). “Je rêve” is an excellent example of the French songwriting aesthetic. “C’était l’hiver” is also impressive – a study in melancholy. Beautiful guitar work and solid arrangements accompany all three of these ballads. In fact, every single song is solidly written. Unfortunately, the music is marred by the album production, which includes ill-advised electronic effects and instruments. These distractions deal a serious blow to what could have been an excellent album. Nevertheless, this is still a fascinating record of an artist coming into his own vocally and artistically. ~~AllMusic Review by Samuel Johnson

On Fragile, Cabrel doesn’t stray far from the approach of his preceding album, Les Chemins de Traverse, alternating uptempo blues-oriented rockers with ballads and smooth pop rock. The artistic production plays to the strengths of his singer/songwriter style, minimizing distractions, sticking to mostly acoustic instruments, and allowing the focus to remain on the melody and lyrics. It’s something of a shame that the songs aren’t as strong as on many of Cabrel’s other recordings. There are some bright spots on the album, such as “Elle écoute pousser les fleurs.” Cabrel serves up a fine vocal performance on the track, the lyrics are picturesque and the melody is pleasing. The song may be worth hearing for the surprise ending alone (try to ignore the solo near the end, credited as being a child’s piano). “Le petit gars,” co-written with Georges Augier de Moussac, is a good example of Cabrel’s lyric writing abilities. Also, “De l’autre côté de toi” features some nice harmonies and slide guitar work. For the most part, though, the album is not too memorable. ~~AllMusic Review by Samuel Johnson

A popular singer/songwriter in France for the past three decades, Francis Cabrel is also a bit of a pastoral recluse, preferring to spend his days with his family in his hometown village of Astaffort, rather than in the media spotlight of Paris. Unsurprisingly, his studio output has become less than prolific in recent years, with intervals of four or five years between records. His artistry and popularity, however, have not suffered in the least, as evident in 2008’s Des Roses et Des Orties. The new songs offer few surprises for either Cabrel fans or detractors, other than a keener emphasis on social issues. This is also reflective of a general trend in France, where events such as the 2007 election of Sarkozy, or the heated debate on immigration, brought politics back to the forefront, both in the media and in everyday life. Cabrel, a father of two who recently adopted a Vietnamese child, is particularly sensitive to the plight of immigrant children, as well as to the ever widening gap between the richer and poorer regions of the planet, the subject of “African Tour,” “Mademoiselle L’aventure,” and “Les Cardinaux en Costume,” among others. Furthermore, Cabrel criticizes institutionalized religion in “La Chêne Liège” and artists and songwriters like himself (“Des Gens Formidables”) for feigning sympathy for the poor but doing very little about it. Most of the songs set Cabrel’s soft spoken voice against his acoustic guitar, reinforced by bluesy electric guitar pickings, or stately piano accompaniment. A few tracks add a discreet ethnic flavor for variety, such as the tasteful flamenco guitar in the opening “La Robe et L’échelle.” The inclusion of three covers, by Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and J.J. Cale, translated and sung in French by Cabrel, seems less fortunate as these songs feel somewhat out of place in the more somber context of this record. A typically well-crafted Cabrel album, Des Roses et Des Orties reached the top of the French charts upon its release. ~~AllMusic Review by Mariano Prunes